 "Rohit, Kohli return after seven months, Reddy handed ODI debut as Australia opt to field against India in Perth")
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli made their highly-anticipated return to international cricket in Perth on Sunday, the former handing all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy his maiden ODI cap, as Australia opted to field against India in the first of three one-dayers. Australia too had a couple of debutants of their own, with opener Matt Renshaw and all-rounder Mitch Owen making their maiden appearance in the format.
LIVE | India vs Australia, 1st ODI in Perth
Both Rohit and Kohli are representing the Indian team for the first time since they played key roles, the former as captain, in helping the Men in Blue win the ICC Champions Trophy in February-March.
The ‘Mini World Cup’, however, would prove to be Rohit’s last assignment as captain in any format, with the iconic Ro-Ko pair announcing their retirement from Test cricket just a couple of months in May. And just last month, Rohit was removed from ODI leadership, with the responsibility falling on the shoulders of recently-appointed Test captain Shubman Gill.
Sunday’s showdown between the two top sides also marks the beginning of a new era with Gill, who had led India to a 2-2 draw in a five-Test series in England earlier this year, leading the Men in Blue in white-ball cricket for the first time in his career. It’s also senior batter Shreyas Iyer’s first game since he was elevated to the role of vice-captain.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAs for the team combination, Harshit Rana was picked in the pace department along with Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj while in-form left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav was left out despite his red-hot run across formats recently, with all-rounders Axar Patel and Washington Sundar picked as the spin options.
The second and third ODIs take place in Adelaide (23 October) and Sydney (25 October) respectively. That will be followed by a five-match T20I series, with Suryakumar Yadav continuing to lead the Men in Blue in the shortest format.
India vs Australia, 1st ODI Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
Australia: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh(c), Matthew Short, Josh Philippe(wk), Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood
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